sheldon



(Model.)

P. P. SHELDON.

MAUHINE EOE FEEDING FILLING DISKS T0 BUTTON MAKING MACHINERY.

Patented Aug. 9, 1881.

.ZiLU 671/ 60 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK P. SHELDON, OF PROVIDENCE, ASSIGNOR TO HENRY B. METOALF, OFPAWTUOKET, R. 1., AND WILLIAM MCGLEERY, OF BOSTON, MASS.

MACHINE FOR FEEDING FlLLlNG-DlSKS T0 BUTTON-MAKING MACHINERY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 245,410, dated August9, 1881.

Application filed November 17, 1880. (Model) To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK I. SHELDON, of the city and county ofProvidence, and State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Machines for Feeding Filling-Disks toButton-Making Machinery; and I do hereby declare that the followingspecification, taken in connection with the drawings furnished andforming apart thereof, is a clear, true, and complete description of myinvention.

My improvements relate to the manufacture of that class of buttons whichembody sheetmetal shells and collets and contain a filling composed ofheavy pastehoard or similar material in the form of a disk.

The object of my improvements is to automatically feed the filling-disksfrom a mass to the dies of button-makin g machines.

Heretofore mechanism has been devised for the attainment of this end;but, so far as my knowledge extends, these filling-disks have alwaysheretofore been taken from a stack or pile in a vertical chute by asliding plate and by it permitted to fall by their gravity into holes ina feed-wheel, from which they were subsequently forced by plungers intothe dies of the button-machine. The dropping of a disk-filling by itsown gravity into the aperture of a feed-wheel involves a too frequentpossibility of its falling edgewise therein and being carried downwardinto the dies in an edgewise instead of fiatwise position, not onlyresulting in the ruin of the disk, but also in the ruin of the severalother parts of which the button is composed, coupled also with theliability of injury to the delicate mechanism of the button-makingmachines.

My present improvements have been spe-- is interposed between the diskand collet. Moreover, during the union of the collet, cunvas, andfilling with the shell and cloth cover, it is desirable that the fillingshould occupy a precisely accurate central position in order to properlyengage with portions of the protruding edge of the cloth cover and foldthem more or less inward as it is forced within the shell, from all ofwhich it will be seen that a positive and forcible'delivery of thefilling is of greater importance in the manufacture of buttons of thisclass than in making suspenderbuttons composed of two perforated metalshells and a paper filling, in connection with the manufacture of whichthe before-referredto automatic mechanism for feeding fillings has beenemployed.

My said improvements are capable of co-operation with any mechanismadapted to lift the disks from a mass within a receptacle and to fill achute, down which they may descend to a point sufficiently adjacent tothe dies of the button-machine to admit of the operation of the deliverymechanism. A

In certain contemporaneous applications for Letters Patent I showhoppers, lifting mechanism, and chutes capable of co-operating with mydelivering mechanism, and I therefore have not deemed it important toherein particularly show and describe more than delivery mechanismembodying novel features and a chute adapted to co-operate therewith.

I am aware that in machines for automatically applying primers or capsto cartridgeshells hoppers, chutes, carriers, and plungers have been soorganized that a primer dropping edgewise from the chute is receivedinto the openvertical jaws of the carrier, and kept from fallingfiatwise therefrom by an automatic retaining-gate until said jaws had sofar moved holds it until the plunger of the capping-machine, descendingto unite the primer with the cartridge-shell, passes between the jaws ofthe carrier and forces the primer therefrom. Such an organization wouldbe impracticable in a button-m akin g machine working on cloth-coveredbuttons, for the upper plungers used therein operate on cloth either inforcing the center of a tuft through the eye of a collet, or they arehollow complex plungers for finishing the buttons, and are much largerin external diameter than any of the rigid parts of which the button iscomposed, and therefore neither of said plungers could co-operate with acarrier as a device for freeing a button part from the custody of thecarrier.

I am also aware that in machines for capping nails a laterally-vibratingpneumatic carrier (without vertical movement) has been employed forconveying a plate or disk from a recptacle to a point above a die, andthat said carrier has been provided with a spring-plunger, automaticallyoperated, for forcing the plate or disk from the custody ofthe.pneumatic carrier, then permitting the disk to fall from saidcarrier into a die. Neither of these prior organizations ofcarrier andplungercould maintain control of the primer or the disk until it wasaccurately delivered and forced into a die by the carrier, and thereforeit is obvious that neither of them was adapted to properly deliverfillings into a cloth tuft having theupturned annular edge, whichresults from the operation of the tuft-plunger in forcing the cloth tuftinto and its central portion partially through the eye of the collet.

The several devices and combinations of devices believed to be novelwill be specified in the claims hereunto annexed, and while I prefertheir employment in one organization I am well aware that some of thefeatures may be separately employed in connection with other mechanismadapted to co-operate therewith.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation ofmy deliveringmechanism, a portion of a chute, and so much of a button-making machineas is deemed necessary for illustration. Fig. 2 is a similar view,showing the parts in the position occupied by themat the moment ofplacing a filling in the die. Fig. 3 is a plan view. Fig. etis anenlarged sectional view of a die containing a collet, canvas tuck, and afilling, and a portion of the delivery mechanism. Fig. 5 represents amodification of a portion of my invention.

The die A, it will be understood, is mounted upon the usual revolvingdie-table, and the delivery mechanism is mounted upon a platformadjacent to the path of the dies. Prior to receiving the filling a, thecollet a and the cloth tuck a are placed within the die, as indicated inFig. 4.

Very thick fillings may be delivered reasonably well by nippers whichgrasp the filling circumferentially, provided a portion of it soprotrudes from the nippers as to admit of its being forced into acollet, or the nippers serving only as carriers may be supplemented, inaccordance with my invention, by a forcing device which will operate torelease the filling from the nippers and simultaneously force it intothe collet.

The delivery mechanism devised by me embodies carrying and forcingdevices, which may be largely varied in construction and arrangement,according to specific requirements.

Ipreferto employ as acarrieradevice which obtains control of afilling-disk by partially piercing it, and with such a piercing-carrierI employ a forcing device which also serves as a stripper forfreeingthediskfrom the piercin g-points of the carrier. Inasmuch as for accuratedelivery the carrier should truly move in the arc of a circle to the dieand in a vertical plane coincident with the axis of the die, thefillings must either be presented by the chute to the carrier at somepoint traversed by the carrier in its direct movement toward the die,or, in lieu thereof, the carrier must be capable of lateral movementtoward and from the lower end of a chute, as well as the circular lineofmovement before referred to. I prefer, with the piercing-carrier, thatit should be capable of the circular line of motion only, and therefore1 provide for co-operation therewith a chute which at its lower endvibrates to and fro, so as to present a filling in the path of thecarrier, and then to retire from said path, to admit of the onwardmovement of the carrier to the die. If, however, nipples be employed asa carrier the chute need not be vibrated, for then the path of thecarrier toward and from the die would occupy a plane at right angles toor across the lower end of the chute, as shown and described in acertain contem poraneous application for Letters Patent filed by me,relating to mechanism more specially devised for feeding shells to thedies of machines'adapted to the manufacture of clothcovered buttons. Ifthe carrier be arranged to grasp a filling circumferentially and torelease it when deposited on the die, the forcing device need notoperate as a stripper, as is necessary with the piercing-carrier.

The chute B (shown in the drawings) is mounted so as to swing or vibrateupon or with its vertical standard I), and a spiral spring, I), on saidstandard is so set as to maintain the lower end, D of the chute at asomewhat rearward position with reference to the die A, as shown indotted lines in Fig. 2. An arm, W, on the chute-standard has pivoted toits outer end a rigid link, 1;, which is moved longitudinally by a cam,If, on a revolving shaft, 0. This cam is so shaped as to act against thespring I) in moving the lower end of the chute forward above the centerof the die, then to rest, and then to permit the spring to return thechute toits normal rearward position. The lower end of the chute is socurved as to present the lowest filling therein in an inclined positionand with its upper surface fully exposed. A stud, b at the bottom of thechute serves to support the column of fillings within the chute. Theupper end of the chute may be placed in coincidence with a chute leadingfrom ahopper containing suitable lifting mechanism; or a light hopperand lifting mechanism may be mounted upon the upper end of said chute,so as to vibrate with it, in which case the lifting mechanism canreadilybe made to rely for its movements upon the vibratory movement ofthe chute.

The filling-carrier D, as shown in Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive, has one ormore piercing-points, cl. One point would serve reasonably well but twoor more are preferable, as they prevent any undue rotation of thefilling during its transit. Said carrier is composed, in part, of alever, d, pivoted at d to a vertical standard, and provided with aspring, (1 so set as to force the carrierrearward from the die. Upon therotating shaft 0 is acam,d*, which engages with a pin, (1 projectinglaterally from the rear end of lever d and is so shaped as in eachrevolution to depress the front end of the lever, (from its highestposition to force the points into a filling,) then to permit the springd to lift the front end of the lever, (to lift a filling from thechute,) then to move it downward into the die, and then to permitthespring to return it to its first or highest position. a

The carrier D, Fig. 5, is of the nipper variety, like that before hereinreferred to.

The finger E, when arranged to co-operate with piercing-points, has atits outer end an annular plate, 6, surrounding the end of the carrier Dand its points. When arranged to co-0perate with nippers whichcircumferentially grasp a filling the end of the finger would be in theform of a plunger, moving to and fro centrally within the nippers, andat right angles to the plane occupied by the jaws thereof, as indicatedat e on the fingers E, Fig. 5. However the carrier may be constructed orof whatever form the end of the finger may be, the end of the fingermust be so far retired as not to obstruct the proper engagement of thecarrier with the filling-disk, nor to interfere with the filling duringits transit into the die. After the arrival of the filling in the die,the finger engages therewith and operates, according to circumstances,cit-her as a forcing device or as a stripping device, or as a combinedforcing and stripping device. In other words, if operating with acarrier having points, as shown, the finger operates as a forcing devicein forcing the filling into a collet, and also as a stripping device infreeing the filling-disk from thepoints. lfthe grasping-nippers shown beused, and they automatically open after depositing the filling, then thefinger would operate solely as a forcing device, but if the nippers didnot soopen automatically, then the finger would operate to strip or freethe filling from the nippers, and also as aforcing device; and now,returning to the pointed carrier, if the points he so short that thefiat end of the finger would be in contact with the filling, then thecarrier would operate also as a forcing device and the finger solely asa stripper. The requisite movements of the finger and the timeofitsoperation with reference to the movements of the carrier are readilyattainable by means of the cam e on the revolving shaft 0, the fingerbeing in the form of a lever, closely resemblinglever d, and havingasimilar spring for inducting a rearward movement of the operating end ofthe finger.

It will readily be seen that as the shaft 0 is rotated in the directionindicated by the arrows the chute will swing around over the die, thecarrier will pierce a filling and lift it from the chute, the chute willretire, the carrier descend into the die with the finger, and the latterwill force the filling downward, and also free it from the points, afterwhich the carrier and finger will rise, ready to repeat their movements.

Having thus described my invention, I claiml. The combination,substantially as hereinbefore described, with the die of a buttonmakingmachine and a chute or receptacle for fillings, of the filling-carrier,vibrating in a vertical plane into and from the die, and aforcing-finger connected to and moving with the carrier, which forces afilling downward into the die after said filling has been deposited inthe die by the carrier, as set forth.

2. The combination, with the die and the forcing-finger, of a chute anda vibrating pointed filling-carrier, the chute and carrier being movablewith reference to each other, substantially as described, whereby thecarrier lifts a filling from the chute, carries it to the die, andforces it into a collet within the die, as set forth.

3. The combination, with the die of a buttonmaking machine and a chuteor receptacle for fillings, of a filling-carrier vibrating in a verticalplane into and from the die, and a finger connected to and moving andco-operating with said carrier for the proper delivery of fillings intothe die, substantially as described.

4:. The combination,with the die and chute, of a pointed filling-carrierand the finger operating as a stripper for detaching the-filling fromthe points of the carrier, substantially as described.

5. The combination, with the vibrating chute, of the pointedfilling-carrier and stripping-finger, substantially as described.

FRANK P. SHELDON.

Witnesses:

LEMUEL H. FOSTER, DEXTER B. POTTER.

IIS

